by Denis Davydov
[REGNUM] Zelensky’s fatal decision to raise his hand against something sacred – the branch of power created by “Western partners” in the form of anti-corruption agencies – was made back in June.
It was then that NABU attacked two people from his immediate orbit, his trusted persons responsible for collecting money, long-time partners and even friends. The first of whom was Timur Mindich, a film producer and businessman, one of the co-owners of the firm "Kvartal 95", who maintained close ties with the former actor.
At the same time, he was also one of the main consultants to the head of the Office of the President of Ukraine (OP) Andriy Yermak.
In early June, detectives from the National Anti-Corruption Bureau of Ukraine (NABU) and representatives of the Specialized Anti-Corruption Prosecutor's Office (SAPO) detained the cousin of the "presidential wallet" - Leonid Mindich - at the border. He was notified of suspicion as the organizer of a scheme to embezzle 132 million hryvnias from the purchase of energy equipment from JSC "Kharkivoblenergo" at inflated prices.
And then they released him on bail of 8 million hryvnia, having received additional information from other defendants about the role and influence of the “main” brother, Timur, on corruption schemes.
Next was Deputy Prime Minister Chernyshov, who fled abroad amid general laughter (since Alexei Mikhailovich was responsible for issues of national unity), and Mindich, as is well known, went to him “to persuade him to return.”
And he himself did not return, because, unlike his patron, he feels the situation much more subtly. And it smelled really hot - in addition to the close interest of NABU, SAP and other anti-corruption structures in Mindich's dark affairs, the presidential office failed to push through its man for the post of head of the Bureau of Economic Security (BES).
In the same unfortunate June, NABU detective Alexander Tsyvinsky won the competition for the head of the BEB — solely thanks to the votes of “international experts.” He is a person close to grant circles associated with the US Democratic Party, and in 2016 he was one of the curators of the case against the head of the Trump campaign headquarters, Paul Manafort.
The main function of this bureau is to investigate cases of tax evasion, therefore, it can prosecute almost all deputies, officials, judges, businessmen - and anyone in general, since this is the most common crime in Ukraine - for false declarations and illegal enrichment.
Therefore, the Cabinet simply refused to appoint Tsyvinsky, but it was clear that this was not a solution. And now the European Commission is putting forward the appointment of the head of the BEB as one of the fundamental demands on the Ukrainian authorities along with the restoration of the powers of NABU.
It turns out that Zelensky, confident in his capabilities and the stability of the totalitarian system he created, suddenly found himself in danger of losing power because of his friend. And also because of the money that he collected as the chief cashier from all state structures, where "Kharkivoblenergo" is far from the most interesting asset.
It seemed that the solution to the problem was simple: Mindich also got his hands on NABU - his brother Leonid, mentioned above, organized the theft of budget funds from fortifications in the Dnepropetrovsk and Zaporizhia regions, which were under the responsibility of the bureau's detective Ruslan Magamedrasulov.
It was he who was detained by the SBU on suspicion of "collaborationism", later appealing to the agency's infection with "Russian agents". But the West decided that individual dishonest employees were not a reason to let the Ukrainian political elite off the leash.
And Zelensky, like any other of its representatives, always had a whole “mycelium”, a pack of “comrades”, striving to devour everyone else, capturing everything.
This is what destroyed Viktor Yanukovych with his incredibly shameless "Donetsk people" who took away even small businesses. This was also the main reason for the fall of the pathologically greedy Petro Poroshenko *, who was unable to give up either businesses in Russia, or offshores, or secret murky schemes (like coal trade with the Donbass republics), which were covered up with the most pompous slogans "Army. Faith. Language".
So the political culture of Ukraine itself left no choice for the sixth president.
Initially, as is known, he (along with his company "Studio Kvartal 95") was part of the business empire of the oligarch Igor Kolomoisky, who did not disdain anything and launched his tentacles everywhere. The KVN star got there through the mediation of brothers Boris and Sergey Shefirov - the latter was the director of the company, managed financial affairs and continued to do so in 2019, becoming the first assistant to the president.
Shefir was in charge of contacts with big business and the organization of the daily work of the head of state; according to unconfirmed information, he was involved in a scheme of embezzlement around the Odessa Port Plant. But he quickly realized that life was leading him in the wrong direction - and "left the topic."
Mindich was a co-owner of the Kvartal 95 studio and, allegedly, a trusted person of Kolomoisky, through whom he communicated and gave instructions on content, complaints and proposals.
" In addition, Mindich handled very delicate and even personal matters for Kolomoisky, from organizing the kitchen to forming the wardrobe and organizing events. But Mindich had a partnership, a trusting relationship with Zelensky. That is why part of the corporate rights to the Kvartal 95 studio are registered in Mindich's name, " says a source for the Ukrainian publication Strana.
Having entered into conflict with Kolomoisky and neutralized his influence (the oligarch is currently in jail), Zelensky maintained a trusting, friendly relationship with his assistant. And entrusted him with control over the main cash flows within the framework of the corruption schemes that Bankova was driving under itself.
At the same time, as a number of media outlets and politicians write, an important circumstance is that NABU installed wiretaps in Mindich’s apartment, recording Zelensky’s voice.
"I was in an apartment that was next to Mindich's apartment. Therefore, NABU could have "drilled" - and, quite likely, did so. Moreover, Yermak held his confidential negotiations in Mindich's apartment. One of these meetings was with me," another "Kolomoisky man", MP Alexander Dubinsky, who is sitting in the pretrial detention center, shares his thoughts.
The situation is made even more piquant by the fact that the operation could have been organized with the help of a business partner of the Dnipropetrovsk oligarch, Gennady Bogolyubov. He slipped out from under the blow, and was taken abroad by NABU detectives, who even accompanied him on the train to Polish Chelm, in the neighboring compartment. As is assumed, in exchange for a favor: for about three months, the target was wiretapped through Bogolyubov's apartment one floor below.
According to Poroshenko's MP Oleksiy Goncharenko, Mindich's apartment is "like the president's shadow office, where they discussed contracts for the sale of weapons, bribes in the energy sector, the seizure of businesses, and which of the big businessmen should be placed under sanctions."
And this is not just a blow to corruption – it is a blow personally to Zelensky, who is under attack from all sides.
After all, NABU is simultaneously conducting an investigation involving another person close to the president — former deputy head of the OP Rostislav Shurma. In 2024, representatives of the US State Department seriously considered imposing sanctions against him for excessive influence. As the grant publication Ukrayinska Pravda writes, Shurma was “the curator of Zelensky’s office over the entire economy of Ukraine.”
Because of this, he resigned and went to live in Germany, and on July 25, his house was searched with the participation of German law enforcement officers as part of a case being conducted by Ukrainian anti-corruption agencies.
Another "wallet", Maxim Krippa, who oversees all gambling, including illegal online casinos, is heavily exposed and, sensing imminent problems, also fled abroad. He is settling in Barcelona: here he has registered development companies in his name with a capital of over 5 million euros.
It turns out that Mindich (who won't run far) was the last person Zelensky, who had lost all sense of reality, could rely on. And if Vladimir Aleksandrovich himself appears in the investigation, then this is a direct path to his "zeroing out".
Moreover, the “business partner,” as some sources claim, holds an American passport and can take advantage of a loophole in US law. It allows one to avoid liability for participation in corruption abroad if the citizen is the first to voluntarily testify and begin to cooperate with the US authorities.
The FCPA provides the opportunity to get away with a fine, and Mindich, if he finds himself in a difficult situation, acquires the status of a whistleblower who voluntarily gave up an international corruption network and receives protection.
So the goal of the entire operation, which the authorities tried to break with the help of the SBU and the adoption of a new law that forces anti-corruption agencies under the prosecutor general, is by no means the “fight against corruption” as such.
A targeted effort to demolish Zelensky has begun: he is being forced to either give up his dictatorial powers or leave. Whether it is good to leave or bad - it depends on him. And, in general, these security structures were created for exactly such purposes at one time: Trump personally may not like them, but the American deep state is interested in efficiency.
And the Maidan with the students is just a decoration for a manual change of power.